Topsy Turvy With a Big Bang Theory
by NessaPoo
Summary: Striike One! Striiike Two! Striike Three! The women are out of here! See what makes the men so mad that they may or may not ever want to speak to their girlfriends again. I'm a newbie, but so what? Critics welcome, hypocrites are not. WARNING: THIS IS FANFICTION- CHARACTERS ARE OOC!
1. Breaking Down, Breaking Up

**Disclaimer:** _The Big Bang Theory_ is a wonderful work of art, but I do not own it. Give thanks to Chuck Lorre, Mark Cendrowski, and Bill Prady.

 **Chapter 1: Breaking Down, Breaking Up**

Sheldon rolls the dice- he gets a 7 by the way- and lands on Vetnor Avenue.

"Damn. I already own it. Your turn Leonard."

Leonard is ignoring Sheldon- like usual- and is on his phone.

"Do you know what they call a person not staring at their cell phone Leonard? Someone playing Monopoly!"

Leonard sighs. Puts phone next to him on couch.

"Alright Sheldon."

Rolls die- an 8- and lands on Atlantic Avenue.

Sheldon asks, "Did you know that if you pound on a Monopoly board hard enough you can cause a small earthquake in Atlantic City?"

"That's nice Shel-"

Sheldon pounds on Monopoly game board hard, his eyes intently watching Leonard's player until it falls off Atlantic Avenue and onto the floor.

"Sheldon!" Leonard exclaims.

"And thank you Charles Darrow!" Sheldon sits down in his spot and huffs. "Aren't you going to pick that up?"

"What- no Sheldon!"

"Well I'm not... I was experimenting. It worked if you wanted to know."

"That's great Sheldon." Leonard picks up his phone again and says, "I'm going to go see Penny now. Good night Sheldon."

"Good night Leonard."

Leonard walks across the hall to his and Penny's apartment and opens the door.

"I'm home early. Sheldon threw a fit about some ga-" Noises. Bed squeaking. Rustling now. Voices rapidly whispering. "Penny? Are you on the phone in there? What's going on?" Leonard walks into his and Penny's bedroom. He sees a figure moving on the ground, and he turns on the light.

Barry falls onto the floor, laying spread eagle; naked. He quickly covers himself with his wadded up clothes and stammers.

"Oh, uh hello Hofstadter. Beautiful night isn't it?" He runs out of the room, then Penny and Leonard hear the front door slam as he leaves the apartment.

Leonard stands there in the doorway, disbelief on his face. He rubs his head and turns to leave the apartment himself.

"Leonard I can explain. It was an accident. It just happened."

"An accident? What did you do? Trip and land in bed with him? I'm going to Sheldon's. I'll get my stuff tomorrow."

Tears swelled up in Penny's eyes. "I- I didn't mean for it to get that far Leonard. We can talk about this."

"There's nothing to talk about Penny. You both are grown adults who made a consensual decision- well I hope it was consensual."

"Oh yes, it was," Penny shakes her head. "But that's not the point."

"Oh yeah? Then enlighten me: what is the point Penny? What is the point of our relationship if neither of us have feelings for each other?" Leonard bites his lip. Penny looks up from crying.

"You what? Leonard, what do you mean?"

Leonard looks up at the ceiling. "That's not what I meant Penny. It just slipped. I-"

"Of course you _meant_ it. You would not have said it just in the heat of the moment if you didn't feel it in some way."

Leonard sighs, " I don't want to talk about this Penny; what's done is done." Leonard turns again to leave the apartment and makes it to the living room when Penny runs up behind him and grabs his arm.

"Leonard, I- I love you! Don't you love me? What will it take for you to understand that?"

"Nothing Penny, absolutely nothing. You know why? Because this is it; we are done."

Penny runs up to Leonard, trying to consume his lips with her now contaminated mouth. Leonard, frustrated, pushes her away and says,

"It won't work this time. Not ever again. As appealing as you are, standing naked in front of me, make-up sex just won't cut it Penny."

"Umm... why not?" Penny was dumbstruck- as blondes usually are.

 **A/N:** **No offense to blondes, actually a few of my friends are blondes. :)**

"Because, like you mentioned before, I don't feel love for you anymore. In fact... earlier, when I was in Sheldon's apartment I was texting someone. A girl I had met at the comic book store no less! Ha! Why are you not happy for me? Oh right, the reason I brought that up. Anyways I've been in touch with her for three weeks."

"You've been seeing another woman for three weeks while we were together?"

"Well- yeah. And by the way, she was technically, okay, she was standing outside of the comic book store waiting for a friend. And look, I have a picture of her."

Leonard opens his phone and starts to press buttons. A beep sounds and he pushes another button. he smiles and says,

"Aww... listen to this: _Why haven't you texted me back soon? A minute without you is like a year without rain._ "

 **A/N: Okay, I know it, you know it, I halfway quoted one of Selena Gomez's songs on that last part. But, I'm not very mushy gushy- Don't Judge Me!**

Leonard shows Penny his phone screen and she sees a beautiful, no gorgeous, no extremely hot, no words can do her justice. She was a brunette with caramel colored eyes and full red lipsticked lips. To Penny, her features seem imperfect, unlike her own, but to Leonard, they were flawless.

"She's ugly." Penny says.

"Are you saying I have bad taste?"

"Yes Leonard, that is what I'm saying."

"Well, I chose you first so speak for yourself."

On the final attempt to leave, Leonard quietly walks out of the apartment and into the hallway. He shuts the door and sits on a flight of stairs, leaning his head against a wall. He thinks about what he didn't tell Penny... the truth.

Leonard's phone beeps again and he looks down. The incoming text message is from Jamie, the brunette. It reads: _Come over and let's celebrate our sixth month anniversary._

 **A/N: Wow, so many reviews! Sorry guys for taking such a long pause before finishing this chapter. Let me know in the reviews if you like longer chapters. I will be able to update more when school is over with. Oh, and I wanted to know: Did I do a good job of catching Sheldon's... personality from the little bit that you read?**


	2. Can't Help Ourselves

**Disclaimer:** The Big Bang Theory is a wonderful work of art, but I do not own it. Give thanks to Chuck Lorre, Mark Cendrowski, and Bill Prady.

 **Chapter 2: Can't Help Ourselves**

Howard is not awoken by the calming Pasadena traffic or the beautiful singing of birds. No, Howard is awoken by the one and only, Sheldon Cooper.

Knock, knock, knock, "Howard!" Knock, knock, knock, "Howard!" Knock, knock, knock, "Howard!"

Howard tries to block out the sound of the knocking, but to no avail. He finally gets out of bed and picks up a robe from a hook on his bed. He opens the door and rolls his eyes at the sight of Sheldon.

"What do you want Sheldon?"

"You're not dressed for work yet? I need a ride to work." Howard looks at his alarm clock on his bedside table. It reads 3:00 AM.

"Sheldon, what the hell is wrong with you? Why do you need to be at work so early? You know what don't even start, I-"

"Well, since you asked, I need to be at work 'so early' because I've been working on my nuclear reactor- the plan stopped by government pen pushers claiming it's illegal to store yellowcake uranium in a garden shed!"

"Sorry I asked! Please stop it Sheldon! I will get dressed and we will go," Howard goes to turn to his closet for clothes and he notices Sheldon still standing there in his doorway. "Sheldon, get out of here!"

"Oh right, you scientists and your 'privacy'- there's no 'privacy' while the government pen pushers are around!"

"Whatever Sheldon," Howard slams his door shut and quickly gets dressed. He opens his door and almost runs into Sheldon because he's still standing in the doorway. They both leave the house and hop into Howard's car. In the car Sheldon starts to hum "Surfin' Bird" and taps his briefcase loudly. "Will you stop that Sheldon?"

"No," and he continues. Howard starts to do the same thing while tapping the steering wheel. "Oh, that is so annoying Howard, will you stop that?" Sheldon asks.

"No." Howard goes on and continues until they get into the parking lot of California Institute of Technology. They get out of the car and Sheldon goes to the trunk and opens it.

"What are you doing Sheldon?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm waiting for you to open your trunk so I can get my in-progress project out of it."

"How did you get something in my trunk without me knowing about it?"

"Oh, you left your trunk unlocked last night and I put it in there before I came into your house."

"Well, why did you lock it aga- nevermind Sheldon." Howard unlocks the trunk and Sheldon pulls out a piece of blueprint.

"I thought you said you had an 'in-progress' project?" Howard's face is puzzled.

"This is that project. It neede it's own space in the trunk so it didn't get ruined by your junk in the backseat." Howard closes his trunk after Sheldon refuses to because his hands are full of his 'project that he couldn't bare to ruin'.

"Once again Sheldon I don't care if 68-70% of people cannot tap their thumb knuckle against their lower teeth with their eyes closed more than 16 times without getting dizzy." Sheldon is walking down the hallway behind Howard looking at his blueprint and rambling about every fact he read from Popular Science. They are walking towards Sheldon's office when they hear laughing in the room across the hall… Raj's office.

"What in the world, or should I say who in the world is Raj doing in there?" Howard advances towards the door to find it locked.

"Ooh, it must be pretty serious." Sheldon says.

Howard knocks on the door and says, "Raj, what are you doing in there? Why are you so early to work today? Anyways, we need to work on our proposal before 6 this morning." Sheldon and Howard hear items banging around the walls and whispering, then faintly, a door shutting. It's a good two minutes before the door makes a click and it swings open, revealing Raj. His hair is ruffled, and the last three buttons on his shirt are not buttoned.

"Hello guys." Raj smiles and keeps a close distance to the door's small gap.

"Hello Raj, who were you screwing in your office," Sheldon asks. Both Raj and Howard look at him with slack jawed looks. "What? We all know what was going on, it was just a matter of saying it."

"Umm… no one Sheldon." There's a bang inside the office and Raj cringes at the look Howard gives him.

"No one, huh? Well, if she's dressed tell her to leave so we can get to work. We'll wait in the hall." Raj nods slowly and closes his door without hesitation. There's talking and then the door opens again. Expecting to see a stranger or possibly a co worker, Howard sucks in air as he sees Bernadette try to sneak out. She sees him as well and drops everything in her hands; keys, coat papers.

"Hello Bernadette, we didn't see you come into Raj's office. Did you see who he was having intercourse with?" Sheldon asks after looking up from his blueprint.

"Oh Sheldon, shut up! Howie, honey, I'm so sorry! I was just going over some paperwork with Raj and we lost track of the time. I didn't mean to keep you from work." She smiles.

"I'm not stupid Bernie, you two were not in there doing paperwork at three in the morning, no matter how impotant it is. You cheated on me with.. Raj? Really?"

Bernadette opens her mouth to speak, but then shuts it. She tries again and says, "Okay, you're right. Sorry I lied."

"That's it? Sorry I lied about what I was doing, but you're not apologizing for doing what you lied about?"

"Howie I'm… actually kind of not sorry. I did have sex with Raj consensually and I don't feel bad about it. And the reason I don't feel bad is because I don't love you anymore Howie, I think we need to stop seeing each other." Howard starts to speak and then looks at Sheldon, who's head is buried in his blueprints, but his eyes are peering over the edge.

"Go to your office Sheldon," Sheldon turns around slowly and walks to his door. Howard and Bernadette watch as he unlocks his door and goes into his office, very slowly, careful to not ruin his blueprints. Howard looks at Bernadette and says, "Bernie, I don't want to break up."

"Well I do Howard and that is what I am trying to do right now. Goodbye Howard." Bernadette starts to walk down the hallway and then Howard talks a step, saying,

"Wait Bernadette, just a couple questions: one, why Raj; two, how long has this been happening?"

Bernadette looks down at the carpeted floor and blushes. "It started about two months ago at a conference. I was about ready to walk into the room when I saw Raj and… nothing made sense anymore about our relationship. I started second guessing my feelings for you and making new ones for Raj. Our first time was in a janitor's closet next to the conference."

"Okay, that last part I did not need to know, and I can't believe you let this go on for two whole months. How long would you have let it go if you weren't caught?" There was hurt in Howard's expression; his eyes were daggers of pain.

"I don't know. To be honest, in my mind, we were done already. I didn't want to make things complicated before Raj and I got more into each other."

"So… I was basically the last resort? If Raj didn't work out, you were coming back to me?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Bernadette's footsteps echoing in the hall are soon fading and Howard is left to throw himself down on the floor and cry. He glances up at Raj's door opening and stares at Raj's humble facial expression. Raj comes into the hallway and offers his hand, but instead gets the favor returned by a punch to the face. Stumbling backwards, Raj puts his hand to his cheek and says,

"I might have deserved that, but come on man, let's move on."

"Seriously? Just move on from something like this? No thanks." Howard stands up and punches Raj in the face again. By this time Sheldon has come out of his room as well, and watches in awe at such violence. He pulls out his cell phone and takes a picture of Raj as Howard punches him again. He sends it to Leonard and immediately gets a reply in all caps:

WHAT IS GOING ON? WHERE ARE YOU? I'M ON MY WAY!

Sheldon looks up to find Raj and Howard moved into Raj's office, and he hears glass breaking. He peers into the room and sees Howard getting ready to strike again, Raj cowering in a corner. After watching Raj get the crap beat out of him for about seven more minutes, Sheldon hears footsteps and sees Leonard rushing with messed up hair and wrinkled jeans.

"Where are they?" Leonard asks.

"In there." Sheldon points to Raj's room. Leonard goes into the room and breaks the two apart. He pushes Raj out into the hallway and puts his hands on Howard's shoulders and looks into his eyes.

"What are you thinking?"

"I'm not, I guess. But, he had sex with Bernadette!" Leonard looks, shocked, at Raj.

"Why?"

"Long story, just let me at him!" Howard says.

"No Howard! Just, back off, calm down. Let's go out to my car for a while," Leonard pushes Howard down the hall and out of the building to the parking garage. He opens the passenger side door and puts Howard inside. He goes around to the driver side and sits down at the wheel. They sit there in silence for a few moments and then Leonard says, "Penny cheated on me.. with Barry."

Howard looks at Leonard open mouthed. "I'm so sorry Leo."

Leonard shrugs. "I'm not. I have been cheating as well with someone else… for six months."

"What? Why?" Howard sits up on the seat, obviously intrigued.

"Because Howard, sometimes… sometimes friendships are just that… friendships. 'Love' is not truly love when you have to lie all the time to keep the love relationship together. Leave it alone Howard. I'll take you home and you can stay away from work for a few days. Clean everything of hers out of your room, burn it if you have to, just heal."

Howard sighs, "Is that what you did Leonard? You burned everything? Threw it out?"

"I've started, but mostly I have been staying up late at night thinking about her, instead of trying to get rid of the memories of her," Leonard shrugs, "I think I need to go."

"Okay, let's go home Leonard." Howard buckles up. Leonard sticks out his hand.

"No Howard, I mean leave Pasadena. The girl I have been seeing, Jamie? She is moving to San Diego to be closer to her family. And, after six months, I think we know each other pretty well."

"So, you're leaving Pasadena? For how long?" Confusion is written all over Howard's face.

"Well, leaving? Yes. For how long? I don't know." Leonard looks forward and starts up the car's engine and pulls out of the parking lot, driving to Howard's house.

 **A/N: Let me know how this chapter went for you in the reviews. Thanks for all of the previous reviews and I hope to update quicker than I have been- sorry about that by the way :)- and if you have any questions, please private message me.**

 **~ NessaPoo**


	3. Once Again, Sorry

**Disclaimer:** Give thanks to Chucky L., Mark-o C. and Billy P.

 **Chapter 3: Once Again, Sorry**

As usual, after work Sheldon is too tired to do anything but what he enjoys almost the most. He catches a ride to the comic book store from Raj.

"Aren't you wondering why I kept mine and Bernadette's relationship a secret the whole time?" Raj asks.

"No, I understand. You found a blonde, of the inferior sex to the male, attractive and you decided to start having relations with her. Am I correct?"

"Yeah Sheldon, you are. Like always."

They pull into the comic book store's parking lot and see Leonard with a brunette sitting outside. Shocked at how beautiful she is, and sitting with Leonard, Raj walks over to them. At first he just stands there, but then he points to Leonard, then the brunette. he goes back and forth between the two, his eyes growing wider and wider.

Leonard introduces Jamie to Sheldon and Raj. Jamie smiles when Raj greets her without words. She blushes while Leonard explains his inability to talk to women without being drunk, (or if he's sexually involved with them), but he leaves that last part out. Dumbstruck, Raj picks up Jamie's hand and kisses it. She lets her hand linger for a few seconds in his, but the awkwardness consumes them and their hands leave one another's.

"Oh, Sheldon? I saw Amy go in here about half an hour ago. I thought maybe you were already in there, but I guess not. Doesn't she only go into the comic book store when you're there?"

Sheldon stands there paralyzed for a moment, but then starts to blink. A lot.

"You two," he says, and points to Leonard and Raj, "You two have cursed me. You have jinxed me! Do you realize what's happening here? Move out of my way Koothrappali!" Sheldon pushes Raj away from the entryway and storms into the comic book store. He doesn't find Stuart at the front counter, but Dale, and asks, "Where is Stuart?"

Dale looks somewhat frightened and replies, "I don't think that's a good idea Sheldon."

Sheldon grabs him by the collar of his shirt, Dale now leaning halfway over the counter, his feet dangling in the air. "Tell me where _they_ are," veins are bulging on Sheldon's face and his arms are shaking. He drops Dale, saying, "I don't work out much, sorry about that."

"They are in the back. But you can't go in there."

"Watch me," Sheldon marches to the back of the store and walks in. He sees another door and pounds on the steel. "Stuart! Open the door! Or you can have Amy do it, either way."

Another door about eight feet away opens and out comes Amy. She only has one shoe on and her skirt is askew. She tries to smooth out her hair casual- like, but to no avail. Her eyes cast down to the floor but then they raise again. She looks him straight in the eyes, standing her ground. The door she came out of starts to open again, but she pushes it shut with her palm, keeping her eyes on Sheldon the whole time.

"Hello Dr. Cooper."

"Hello Dr. Farrah Fowler. Having a nice time with Stuart?"

"Sheldon, look, there's no excuse for doing what I have done-"

"You're right, there is no excuse."

" _But_ , there is an explanation."

"Oh really? And what is that Dr. Farrah Fowler?"

"You can call me Amy, Sheldon."

"No, I prefer not to be on first name basis with backstabbers."

Amy's eyebrows lift slightly, her mouth forming an 'o'. "Stuart and I have been together for a year," she rushes her explanation, not being able to look at Sheldon anymore. Her eyes scan the walls. It goes on in silence for a few more minutes then Amy says, "Do you have anything to say to me?"

"Yes. Did Penny's and Bernadette's slutty ways rub off on you and you are just making everything up?"

"What? No! What did Penny's and Bernadette do? What is going on?"

"Just what I would like to know: what _is_ going on? Why are you having a relationship with Stuart? Why stay with me?"

"Because I still love you!" she blurts. "I still love you, Dr. Cooper."

"How? How can you still love meif you don't even care about me enough to - let's see, what are the words? Oh yeah. To not have sex with someone else! If all you women love the man you're dating then why, why not be honest with them when you are with someone else, because obviously, you don't really have feelings with them. It's ridiculous! Penny with Barry, Bernadette with Raj-"

"Penny and Barry? Eww... Bernadette cheated on Howard?"

"Yes, and you, you just had to close the circle, right? You had to also have an affair, not caring what you were doing."

The doors open again, and too stunned to notice, Amy doesn't shut it again. Stuart walks out into the hall and nods towards Sheldon.

"Hello Sheldon. Goodbye Sheldon." he leaves the two alone in their lover's quarrel and returns to his job.

"Sheldon, are we done here?" Amy asks.

"Yes we are done in our relationship, so don't feel shackled to me and you can now get on with yours and Stuart's relationship. You might want to finish getting dressed as well."

Amy looks down at herself and turns to the door. She sets her hand on the door knob and pauses. "Do you- do you think we could ever try to... repair this? Repair us?"

"I don't even have to think about it. No Dr. Farrah Fowler, we cannot repair this. I will put in a request tomorrow for a new partner in my nuclear reactor project."

"We can't even work together?"

"No, I can't work with liars."

"Fine. Goodbye Sheldon." Amy goes into the room and shuts the door. Disappointed with life, Sheldon leaves the hall and enters the comic book store. Not interested in amazing graphics or fast- paced plot lines, he sulks all the way past Stuart at the front counter and out of the store. Leonard, Jamie and Raj are still sitting outside and they all look up at Sheldon when the door opens.

"And?" Leonard inquires.

"I just want to go home now. Raj? Can you take me home?"

"Didn't you want to read some comics?" Leonard asks.

"Not anymore, let's just go."

Raj stands up and they hear the door open again. Amy walks out and seems shocked when she sees all of them. She walks quickly to her car which was only two spots away from where Raj is parked.

"Huh, Amy _was_ here." Leonard stands up with Jamie at his side. Sheldon says goodbye to Leonard, yet Raj just nods at Leonard and smiles big at Jamie. Jamie smiles back and says bye to Raj, then Sheldon heads to Raj's car, Raj trailing not far behind.

When Sheldon is dropped off in front of his building he tells Raj he'll be taking the next day off, but will return the day after. Trudging up the stairs to his apartment, he sees Penny carrying her laundry to her apartment.

"What's wrong Shelbot? Did you read a devastating end to a comic book? You're home pretty early."

"No I did not even get to read a comic book today. I would also like to thank you for ruining mine and Amy's relationship."

"What do you mean? What happened between you and Amy?"

"You cheated on Leonard, Bernadette cheated on Howard and Amy cheated on me."

"Bernadette? Amy? Who would go for them? Anyways, those are not my fault. I didn't even know they were cheating."

"I know, I'm sorry. it's just... now that I don't have Amy, it seems everyone's to blame. Can you do me a favor Penny?"

"Umm... I don't know Sheldon. What is the favor?" by this time they both have already reached their floor and are at Sheldon's door. He unlocks it after fumbling with his keys and pushes the door open.

"Can you come in and make me feel better?"

"Sheldon, you were just accusing me moments ago of breaking up you and Amy by having an affair. Even if Leonard and I are broken up and so are you and Amy, it's not happening."

"What are you talking about? I want you to come into my room and sing 'Soft Kitty' to me."

 **A/N: Ha! You guys thought somebody was going to get laid!**

Penny lets out a big whoosh of air out of her lungs. "Okay Sheldon."

They both walk in and Penny sets her basket of clothes on the couch. She follows Sheldon into his room and sits on a chair next to his bed. He lies down on his bed on top of the covers and looks up at the ceiling.

 _Soft kitty, warm kitty,_

 _Little ball of fur._

 _Happy kitty, sleepy kitty,_

 _Purr, purr, purr._

"Again." Sheldon yawns and closes his eyes. He gives way to dreamland and lets sleep wash over his horrific day.


	4. Let's Talk the Talk

**Disclaimer:** Thank you to Chuck Lorre, Mark Cendrowski, and Bill Prady.

 **A/N:** **My thoughts and prayers go out to all of those who were affected by the mass shooting in Orlando, Florida on early Sunday morning. I have as well been going through the lasting effects of a mass shooting that happened recently. The UCC shooting was one of the most terrifying days of my life, and I will never forget the events of that day. Of course, I wasn't there- I'm a high school student- but I still was affected day in and day out. I hope no one has lost a loved one due to the shooting, and PM me if you want to talk. Whew, heavy opening note. Chapter 4 everyone.**

 **Chapter 4: Let's Talk the Talk**

Circled around the Dungeons and Dragons game board are Howard, Leonard, Sheldon, and Raj. Raj is somewhat alone in his own "corner" of the circle, and huddles over his cellphone. He pays attention to the game now and then, rolling the die, pretending to be actively engaged. The reason for this is not because he dislikes the game (no, no, no). In fact, he loves the game, possibly the most out of anyone there. So what is the purpose of his loneliness? What is the purpose of this small group meeting? Easy: for the men to talk about their break- ups while playing a board game in the awkward moments. Mostly the awkward moments consisting of what Raj had done and why Raj had done what he had done; why the women had done what they had done.

The crying from time to time comes from Sheldon, but sometimes from Howard, or maybe once in a while, Leonard. When Raj isn't burying his nose in his phone, he is apologizing to Howard. But they just aren't enough. No matter what he said or how he said it, he cannot express or get through to Howard his regrets.

"Dude, at the time I guess I didn't truly realize how it would affect you. How it would affect our friendship." Raj looks at Howard with pleading eyes.

"Of course you didn't think about it. You're probably just making this all up: you knew how it would affect our relationship as friends, our work relationship, or our future relationships."

"Future relationships?" Raj raises an eyebrow.

"Yes. Haven't you thought about the odds of us becoming brothers one day by marrying two hot blue-eyed, blonde-haired twins? Becoming partners in a threesome relationship with a hot blue-eyed Blondie. That just so happens to be a twin?"

"No, but- what if I don't want a blue-eyed, blonde-haired twin? What if I want a brunette like Jamie?"

Leonard looks up from the game board and stares daggers at Raj. "Excuse me? You do realize Jamie and I are together, right?"

"Oh come on Leonard, you don't actually believe you guys will last, do you?" Raj asks.

"Hey. I can make a relationship last. And even if I don't fully know how at least I'm getting practice with Jamie."

"Yeah Raj, lay off him. Let him learn a lesson when he gets abandoned in San Diego by his precious lover," Howard says sorrowfully.

"What? Leonard, why are you going to be in San Diego?" Sheldon asks.

Leonard looks up at the ceiling, his elbows grounding into his knees. "Uhh, I might have forgotten to mention to the others that I might be leaving." He takes a quick glance at Howard then tries to search Raj and Sheldon's faces for any sign of... anything. Any emotion. Anything at all. Sadness, anger, nervousness, excitement? Could there be any excitement? For him at the least, right? Do they want him to go or stay? Stay or go? Why are they not showing some sort of emotions on their faces? Do they even care if he were to get on a plane and leave them behind? Just throw them in the trash like there was nothing worth remembering in that time period? Where is the damn emotion?! What are they thinking? Why was he asking _himself_ all of these questions instead of _them_? Oh my god he needs to say something to fill the awkward silence. But what to say? How to begin? "Ummmmmhmmmmm... what do you guys think? How do you feel about the news?"

Sheldon blinks multiple times and Raj looks down at his cellphone again. Leonard doesn't know how to respond.

"Why- how can you even think about leaving us?" Sheldon asks.

"It's not you guys. I just need a change. A change of scenery, a change of an intimate relationship. I need to start fresh... which includes starting it new without you guys."

"Oh so corny! Oh so stupid!" Sheldon rolls his eyes.

"What?" How could Sheldon not understand? Oh yeah, he's Sheldon.

"It's not us, it's you, is it? Is that how this is? You're going to leave us because you can't face your ex?"

"Sheldon, I love Jamie. I am doing this to strengthen hers and my relationship. You wouldn't understand. What do you think about all of this Raj?"

"I don't like it."

"Why? Because you won't get to see Jamie?"

Raj shrugs his shoulders. "Yeah, pretty much. I guess I can get over her though."

"Oh. That's reassuring." Leonard rolls his eyes. Sheldon looks down at his wrist.

"It is now 8:30."

"What, do you have a date or something Sheldon?"

"No, I have a watch."

"Ha-ha Sheldon."

"What?"

"Never mind."

The game continues on in silence. Then Howard looks up at Leonard. "Have you told Penny?"

This earns him a sideways glance from Leonard. "No, I don't have to tell Penny about anything that goes on in my life anymore," he winces, "but maybe I will tonight."

"Why?" Sheldon asks.

"Because I want to, okay?!"

"Do you think she will want you to stay?" Howard folds his hands in his lap.

"It doesn't matter to me anymore."

"Does she still matter to you though?"

"No. Yes. I don't know. Maybe? I have Jamie now. Correction: I have _had_ Jamie. Penny will just have to deal with it. I am just telling her out of courtesy."

"And? If she wants you to stay?" Howard is feeling disbelief. Leonard leaving? It feels as though their friendship had only recently begun.

"She shouldn't have cheated on me if she wanted me to stay. It's final: I am leaving on Thursday."

Sheldon gasps, "that's in two days!"

"I know Sheldon. I need to start packing."

Jamie looks at Leonard before boarding the plane.

"I'll see you on Thursday," she smiles and kisses him.

"Okay, I love you." Leonard stares into her eyes.

"I love you too." Jamie leaves his side and walks away. Another look at Leonard and gives a wave. He waves back and gives her a toothy grin. She tries her best at a half hearted upturn of her lips.

On the plane, Jamie finds the full head of hair she loves. "Is this seat taken?" She asks.

Raj gives her his biggest smile and shakes his head. Once seated, Jamie flags down the stewardess. "Excuse me, ma'am? Can you get us some drinks? We're going to need a lot so don't hold back."


	5. Forgot to Mention

**Disclaimer:** Thank you to Chuck Lorre, Mark Cendrowski, and Bill Prady.

 **A/N:** **Let me know how this story is going for you by PMing me or reviewing. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions let me know. Thanks for my continuous readers who have stuck with me and reviewed every chapter. I would like to thank bamadude for giving me some inspiration to write the following two chapters.**

 **Chapter 5: Forgot to Mention**

Leonard hesitates in front of the thin barrier between Penny and himself.

"This is silly," he whispers, "just do it." He knocks on the door and hears footsteps. The bolts all unlock and the barrier is broken. The smell of a roast travels up his nostrils and his breath is taken away by the sight in front of him.

Penny stands before him wearing a white tee shirt and ripped blue jeans, but still looks amazing with her messy hair and toned arms. Her hands are shoved in the back pockets of her jeans and her bright hazel eyes spark a warmth in Leonard that moves throughout his whole body.

"What's up?" She asks.

Leonard tries, really hard, to focus again on his reason for coming, but his words catch in his throat. He lifts his arm and points inside. "May I come in?"

"Yeah," she opens the door further, "have a seat."

Walking to the couch, Leonard has second thoughts about coming. He doesn't want to hurt her feelings with the news, but then he catches a glimpse of the bedroom door, slightly ajar. He thinks of what happened in that room days before. He starts talking immediately.

"I lied to you... before."

Penny sits across from him on the couch. "What do you mean?" She asks, her voice pitch raising with every syllable.

"Remember when I said that I was with someone else?"

"Yeah. So?"

"So, I lied about how long we have been together," Leonard braces himself for a blow up, "we have been together for six months."

Penny's jaw drops. "Six? As in; one, two, three, four, five, six months? 180 something days?"

"Yes, 180 something days. Six months. But there's also something else I need to say."

"What could it possibly be?"

"Jamie and I are going to be living in San Diego now. I dropped her off at the airport before I came here and she's already on her way there. I'm leaving on Thursday."

"Thursday?"

"Yeah."

"Get out."

"What?"

"Are you deaf? I said get OUT! Who do you think you are? You wait two days prior to you leaving to tell me the whole truth about you and another woman, and that you are escaping to San Diego to _live_ with her? Get OUT!"

Leonard leaves before words are not the only things being thrown around.

/

He tucks her auburn hair behind her ear. He gently strokes her small cheekbones, and they both lean in. Smiles and all.

Stop.

Bernadette presses the pause button on the remote and her stomach feels queasy inside. She almost pukes, but convinces herself not to. It's always the same stupid ending; the woman gets _her_ man, the man says something romantic- touches her in some nice, unharmful way- and they both kiss. Bernadette thinks to herself: _**It is so cheesy! Who watches this crap? Well, I guess I do, but I do NOT enjoy it!**_

She tosses the remote to the opposite side of her on the couch. She thinks about having her own happy ending, being a pretty girl, not worrying about what she will face tomorrow or the next day. A pounding on the door interrupts her thoughts. She goes for the ignoring route and lies down with her feet resting on an arm of the couch. Letting her eyes flutter shut, Bernadette takes a big breath in, then out. Her right arm falls to the floor as she relaxes every single muscle fiber in her body. Her left arm falls in between her and the cushions.

Images of _her_ man's perfect facial features combine piece by piece, yet there's something missing. _**Where is it?**_ she thinks. _**No, it has to be here! Why is it not here?**_ Then her mind returns to reality and what she had done. _**Oh, I made it go away. That beautiful, sweet, innocent..**_. Knocks again.

"Bernie?! Bernie?! If your home open the door before I... before I kick it in."

Bernadette rolls her eyes. Of course he would go to the extreme. "Hold your horses! I'm coming right now!"

He must have not heard her, and says, "I swear, if you don't open the door I'll do it. I will do it."

Bernadette unlocks the door and opens it, which turns out to be the moment when he decides to run for the door, and when it opens: _THUD!_ He hits the ground. He holds his shoulder and winces for a few moments. Then he stands up and removes his arm from his shoulder.

"Hello Howie." Bernadette looks Howard Wallowitz up and down. He looks horrible. His eyes are crazed, his shirt is covered in ketchup (hopefully ketchup) stains, a turbulence of hair is upon his head, yet his perfect facial features are still in tact. This man, _her_ man, just standing there, lifts a weight off of her that she had no idea was there.

"Hello Bernie. So, how's life?" Uhhhhh. His voice. It sends shivers up and down her spine, and makes her want to take him on the couch right now. She clears her throat.

"It's... going great." Ohhhhh, she lied.

Howard looks uncomfortable now, and responds, "Oh, that's... great. I'm glad... I'm glad everythings going well for you."

"And what about you Howard? Are you feeling okay?"

"Okay? Yeah, I, umm... I am feeling great as well." Ouch. That stings Bernadette. Bad. But, she guesses she deserves it after all she did to hurt him.

"What did you stop by to talk about?"

"Oh, I uhh... I just wanted to see how you were doing and," _**Oh please Howie, just say it! You want me back, just tell me that you can't live without me. Look at me dammit!**_ "I think I left some things in our- your bedroom."

"You did? Oh, let's go see then," Howard follows Bernadette into her bedroom and she pulls out a box from underneath her bed. "Here you go." Howard lifts it and Bernadette walks behind him back to the living room. She opens the front door and he walks through it into the hallway.

"Goodbye Bernie."

"Goodbye Howie." She shuts the door and rests her hand on the doorknob. Her forehead leans against the door and a long breath escapes her lungs. _**He didn't say he loved me. He didn't fight for me. He didn't say he wanted me back. Are we done? No.**_

After flinging the door open, Bernadette flies down the hall. "Howie!" She sees him and grabs his elbow. He turns around and that beautiful, sweet, innocent smile appears on his face. _**It's back!**_ He drops the box which makes a terrible crashing sound when it hits the floor.

"It'll be okay. It's just- oh never mind what it is."

He tucks her blonde hair behind her ear. He gently strokes her small cheekbones, and they both lean in. Smiles and all. There is no stopping. No pausing from a remote. Their lips collide with each others and fireworks explode in their chests. Warmth of a thousand fires runs down their bodies from their heads to their toes. Electricity shocks their muscle fibers as they grope the others torso, shoulders, and runs their fingers through the others hair. Bernadettes' nails dig into Howards' roots and her lips move in a beautiful rhythm. Howards' tongue explores the dark depths of Bernadettes' oral cavity while trying to find a good grip on her tiny waist.

Their feet shuffle all of the way to Bernadette's doorway and into her living room, but not before slamming the front door with the heel of her stiletto.

/

In the early light of Wednesday morning Jamie tosses around on the queen size matress. Her fingers land on the hard surface of a sculptured, yet soft chest. Her head lifts up and she finds a sleeping Raj sweetly dreaming away.

"RAJ! Get up!" she yells.

Raj's eyes flicker awake and his eyebrows knit in confusion over where he is. Then he remembers: San Diego. With _Jamie_.

They hadn't quite been so honest with Leonard. About many things. The first thing was they didn't just get acquainted with each other by Leonard outside of the comic book store. They had technically- okay, they had met only five days before that encounter. Raj had had a bad day at work, and, like Sheldon, enjoyed going to the comic book store afterwards. He had seen Jamie standing by the entrance of the store and couldn't help but notice her smooth, long legs and shiny hair. She stopped him before he had the chance to walk by and started flirting with him. She said she was waiting for a friend and asked if he liked to travel.

He took this as a weird question at first, but he nodded his head anyways. She told him she thought he was very cute and told him of her upcoming trip to San Diego. At the mention of taking a trip, no matter how long it may last, he nodded very eagerly when she asked if he was interested in going with her. She smiled and gave him her number, which he texted repeatedly any chance he got. He kept it a secret from everyone in case it didn't work out between him and Jamie. He was already caught in the act by the time he was introduced again to Jamie by Leonard, even though he was going to tell them all about this extremely hot woman he had been seeing.

Then, after the last couple of days, he had seen through the smokescreen she had put up between herself and others. He had realized what she truly was, past the beauty and witty flirtations: a complete utter bitch.

She treated him harshly more and more every moment they were together. At first, he was naïve in thinking it was just karma for him having sex with Bernadette, but then it continued, and got worse. This was the real Jamie: and man did Raj feel bad for Leonard. But, he was confused: why did Leonard still appear to like Jamie still after six months of being with her and willing to move to San Diego to live with her?

"Raj! Raj? Raj! Are you awake yet?! God, you need to start learning how to talk without getting drunk all the time! I hate that about you! You need to change for the better. But, that is of no concern of mine currently because we have something of more pressing issues to discuss."

Raj gives her a questioning look.

"You need to leave. Now. I know Leonard won't be here until tomorrow, but I wanted some alone time before then. Sorry, I don't have the time to make you breakfast and have you stay, but oh well. Besides, you don't eat much, right? It's like something to do with your people's stupid religion or whatever? Okay, here's the money for the ticket. Bye!" She is pushing Raj from behind, not even letting him get dressed. She opens the door of the hotel room and shoves him out into the hall. His clothes are tossed out not too far afterwards and some cash is tossed onto the pile. The door is shut and Raj hears the deadbolts lock into place. There's is slippers padding around the room and then another door opens and shuts. The sounds of a shower fill the air, so Raj figures she's done with him and gets dressed before anyone comes out and sees him.

He picks up the money and descends down the stairway towards the lobby. He nods at the person behind the front counter and waves a goodbye.

In the parking lot, a blue corvette catches his eye. The reason being is because it's in the spot right in front to his left. In Jamie's room number's parking space. He had wondered last night as they drove to find a parking spot why she hadn't parked in her designated area. Since he had had one too many drinks on the plane he had asked her directly.

"Umm babe, why are you not parking over there? In your spot?"

"Oh, I just wanted to umm... park... right here," she pulled into a corner of the lot, "in the shade." Yes, he thought it to be weird at first, but hey, maybe she was drunk too? Or maybe not. He wouldn't put it past her.

Raj stormed over to the blue corvette which had its driver still in it. He knocked on the driver side door and motioned for him to put it down. The driver did so and Raj's suspicions were confirmed. It was a man.

"Hello, may I help you?" the man asks.

"Yeah, why are you in this particular spot?"

"Oh, um this is my spot sure."

"Really? Pardon me, but do you know a Jamie? And, do you happen to be here for her?"

"Well, yes. Yes I am. How did you know?"

"Wild guess. She's a friend of mine. I'm sure she'll be ready for you in a few minutes, She was in the shower when I left." the man looks down for a second, trying to figure out what Raj is saying. He shrugs it off though, and returns to his cellphone in his lap.

"Thanks man."

"No problem." He turned and walked to the road, where he flagged down a taxi and drove to the airport.


	6. Take It Easy

**Disclaimer:** Thank you to Chuck Lorre, Mark Cendrowski, and Bill Prady.

 **Chapter 6: Take It Easy**

 _Ring, ring, ring! Ring, ring, ring!_

"Oh my god, shut up!" Penny yells as she is awaken by the beautiful sounds coming from her cellphone. She sits up stiff as a board in her room and reaches for her phone on the nightstand. Looking at the caller ID, her stomach flips over and over, and her head feels like a bowling ball, too heavy for her shoulders to keep upright. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. She opens them again and looks at the phone yet again. Yep, she isn't delusional; she answers the call immediately. "Hello?" She asks.

"Hi, is this Penny... no last name, huh. Is this Penny, then?" the voice on the line shakes nervously and sounds exhausted.

"Yes, this is... Penny. I'm sorry, who is this? And why are you calling at this ungodly hour?" she fears the worst, and holds back tears that threaten to slip down her dry cheeks. Who is it? What happened to them?

"This is Officer Miller. I'm with Pasadena's Police Department. I know it's early this morning, but, well, I have some bad news regarding- could you come down to the station? We would like to talk to you in person and have you help us out with something." Officer Miller's voice cracks in the middle of his final sentence.

"Ummm, sure. I'll be there momentarily." Penny doesn't wait for a response and ends the call. She throws her phone on top of her quilt and picks up clothes off of the floor. She dresses at lightning speed and combs through her hair while picking up her phone and leaving her bedroom. She throws the comb on the floor of the living room and grabs her keys. She walks out of her apartment, locking the door, and rushes down the stairs and out of the building to her car. A few feet from her vehicle she looks down, realizing she isn't wearing any shoes. Shrugging, she unlocks and climbs into the driver seat. To her right is a pair of pink slippers on the passenger seat and she slips them on.

Backing out of her parking position, Penny runs over the curb, but doesn't stop to check the damage. On her way to the station, situations fly through her mind. Some are too horrible to think about, but she can't stop torturing herself. _**What happened? Is someone I love in trouble? What would police want my help for? Don't let it be him. Please. Let whatever it is be a mistake... What if it's my mom? What if she's hurt? What if she's... dead?**_

The tires squeal as Penny parks her car in front of the Pasadena Police Department. She runs as best as she can in her slippers without falling on her face. Rushing in the front door, Penny pauses to compose herself and catch her breath. Her hands move to her hair and smooth out her clothes, and takes another deep breath. In, then out. Another. In, then out.

Marching up to the front desk, Penny is met with a heavyset redhead lady who gives her the look like, _'Lady, it's too early for this s***. Lead your pretty face out of here.'_

"Hello, I was called by Officer Miller about 15 minutes ago. Where is he now?"

The woman's face falls instantly and her eyes change from exhaustion to sorrow. "Oh, my. Your Penny, right?"

Penny's face pinches in confusion. Slowly, she says, "Yeah. Is the officer here?"

The lady stands abruptly and walks to a doorway leading to a hallway. "Miller!" she shouts. She returns back to her chair behind the desk and props her head on her hand. She stares at Penny, and doesn't pull away until a man appears in the doorway. This, Penny assumes, is Officer Miller. Miller removes a hat he has resting on his head and tilts it towards Penny,

"Will you follow me to my office, please?"

A road map of emotions plays out on Penny's face now, and she goes to open her mouth, but instead just follows him down the hallway.

Once behind the closed door of Officer Miller's office, Penny carefully takes a seat in one of the red velvet worn out chairs in front of her. Miller places himself on top of his desk and folds laces the fingers of his hands together. He seems to be trying to put a puzzle together in his mind, and then speaks.

"At 1:38 this morning, the flight setting off for San Diego from Pasadena crashed in a field, not far from it's take-off location. The residents living on the farm where this plane crashed in the field called 911 at 1:43, five minutes later. When emergency personnel arrived they immediately checked for survivors... there were none. Since there was only 150 people on the plane so early every body that was recovered was ID'd with no problem. Among those 150 people we found a letter with your name on it in the wallet, and a picture of you with your name and phone number on the back. The person with these items was a man by the name of Mr. Leonard Hofstadter. Did you know this man?"

The pain in her chest came first. Then the tears. Then, she didn't know, because she was blacking out, fading away from the world slowly. Over and over again the words played in her ears, turning into a jumble of incoherent sounds. _'Did you know this man?' 'Did you know this man?' 'Ddyunthmn?'_...

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" claws scratch at Penny's face, making her cheeks feel raw. The claws belong to her. She stops herself from tearing out her eyes and feels her chest bounce up and down rapidly. She can actually _hear_ the blood coursing through her veins, her skin crawling from the movement. She looks at her alarm clock on her nightstand: 11:27 pm. _**In 33 minutes- Thursday.**_ She remembers what day Leonard had told her he was leaving. Penny touches her palm to her chest. She feels something that hasn't been there in a long time. She reaches for her phone and starts typing.

/

Standing in line to buy his plane ticket, Leonard's phone buzzes in his pants pocket. He fishes it out and sees a message from Penny: _Something is broken_.

Leonard jumps out of the line and runs through the airport back to the front entrance. He runs out to his car in the parking lot and starts up the engine. He looks in front of him, seeing his hands on his steering wheel, driving on the very roads he was saying goodbye to just moments

before. Running a red light or two, he keeps going, picking up speed. His heart swells as he realizes: he would do anything for her. This woman. The real love of his life. He curses at himself for cheating on her with Jamie, for not fighting hard enough to keep him and Penny together. Where they belong, in each others embraces, loving each other with the same love that brought them closer in the first place. He repeatedly smashes his hands against the wheel, blaming himself for whatever trouble she is in. He swerves to miss an oncoming pick-up and turns right, then right, then left. He parks in the parking lot of the apartment building and flies up the steps into the brick building.

Following a blurry trip to Penny's apartment door somehow, Leonard twists the door handle and pushes the door open. Penny is sitting on her couch and smiles when she sees him.

"What is it? What is broken?" he rushes to her side, searching her eyes for a tell tale sign.

A hand goes to Penny's chest, and tears spring from her sockets. "My heart, Leonard. My heart is broken, and I need.. I need you to stay. Do not leave me. It's back Leonard. My love for you is back."

Leonard's need grows stronger, and so does hers. They don't slowly lean in to each other, though. They attack each other; their mouths savoring one another's. Tongues tease and arms tug at hems, fingernails dig into forearms and...

 _BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_

 _THUD!_ The carpet. Her hands feel around and she finds the cord. She yanks it down and the alarm clock falls to the floor. She hits the snooze button, one... two... three... four... five... six...

seven... and loses count after 15 times. She can't say a word. She sits up on the carpet and leans against the bed. Her legs lift up to her chin and she closes her eyes. Saltwater leaks down her skin and she turns to the socket and pulls the cord from the wall. Rocking back and forth, Penny

tries to reason what just happened. _**I just had an out of body experience. In my dreams. I knew what he felt, thought, did. What caused this? Do I love him for real? How can I love him? Is he... no, no, but... is he my soulmate? Are we... supposed to be with each other... forever?**_

/

Standing in line to buy his plane ticket, Leonard's phone buzzes in his pants pocket. He fishes it out and sees a message from Jamie: _Can't wait to see you this afternoon. I have been busy unpacking since I got off the plane. The other moving van will be here at 2. See you soon. Love you._

Leonard smiles, then he walks up to the front counter with a young looking Tom Cruise behind it. "How may I help you this morning sir?"

Leonard looks down at the text and says, "One ticket to San Diego, please."

 **A/N: So... what did you guys think about this chapter? I fill like there's an uproar coming, but maybe not. I love all of the reviews I have received so far and hope you reviewers keep reviewing. Thanks for all of the support by my readers. Chapter 7 hopefully coming faster than this chapter, but we'll see.**


	7. With Arms Wide Open

**Disclaimer:** Bill Prady, Mark Cendrowski, and Chuck Lorre - Love you guys!

 **A/N: So for some reason it's bothering me that my word count is so low. I'm trying to keep each chapter about 2,000 words, but I haven't done that save for three chapters including this one. And of course 2,000 isn't so high either, but I'll do better. I promise! Anyways, thanks to all of my reviewers for taking the time to express your thoughts on this story. I hope I have grabbed your attention, confused you, and triggered some irritated emotions out of you guys with the last chapter. I'm so sorry for taking so long- I didn't have any inspiration- AKA: Writer's Block. Okay, we need to get on with this thing! The continuation of this topsy turviness with a big bang is awaiting your eyes.**

 **Chapter 7: With Arms Wide Open**

"But why can I not have a new partner? Can you even explain it to me in a reasonable way? I know that your not technically a real scientist, but you must know of a reasonable explanation for why you say I have to be in relations with such a person." Sheldon whines to Dr. Gablehauser, his boss. His arms are swinging slowly at his sides, his stance seems weak.

"Because, Sheldon. You've been working on this project with Dr. Farrah Fowler from the beginning. It's been 8 years!"

"So?"

"So? Dr, Cooper, you of all people - especially you- should understand the importance of this research and experiments. Why do you want to get a new partner anyways?"

Sheldon tries to change the subject: "Here's a joke for you that might put your mind at ease. Do you know why you can't trust atoms? Do you? No, of course you wouldn't. It's because they make up everything! Ha-ha! Knew you wouldn't get that one."

Gablehauser rolls his eyes. "Okay you don't have to tell me, but let me assure you that there is no one else qualified enough to be your partner in this. To train someone would take a couple years if we're lucky, and at best they would be half as good as her. Dr. Farrah Fowler may have done something- whatever it could be- to upset you, but you have to keep your personal life and your work life separate. Do you understand Dr. Cooper?"

"I understand..." Sheldon trails off.

"But?" Gablehauser catches on.

"But, I do not agree with it. I move to decline your offer."

"What offer?"

"The offer of me continuing to be in a work related acquaintance with Dr. Farrah Fowler."

"I'm sorry Dr. Cooper. You may leave now." he waves towards the door and starts to work on some paperwork on his brown wooden desk. Sheldon leaves the room quietly with his head hanging down.

"He must be incompetent. Or his age is helping him with an early on set of hearing loss. He never said if my declining was taken into consideration and accepted." he opens the door again and Dr. Gablehauser growls,

"No, Dr. Cooper! You're offer is declined!" Sheldon decides against protesting and steps out.

Backing out of the door frame, Sheldon is abruptly stopped by someone behind him. He spins a full one-eighty to see Amy fumbling. Dropping papers. Familiar papers. Another look reveals to him that they are the files on the nuclear reactor upcoming experiment.

"Glad it wasn't anything of importance." Amy says sarcastically.

"What do you mean? Of course this work is useful." Sheldon replies in a somewhat high pitched voice. He kneels to pick up the papers carefully.

"It's okay Dr. Cooper," Amy follows him to the ground, "I can recollect the files regarding our upcoming nuclear reactor experiment myself." their hands touch each others in the flurry of activity, and they look up at each other.

"Did you feel any sensory shock misread as a 'spark' when your limb came into contact with mine,"

"Actually," Amy starts.

"I wasn't finished. 'With mine', Dr. Farrah Fowler?"

"No, nothing of that nature. Did you feel an intimate connection from the contact?" Amy looks stern, her eyes of stone seemingly begging him to disagree with her.

"No, I didn't feel anything of the sort."

"Good. There is no attachments then." Amy shuffles the papers in order.

"Yes, good. I will follow you to the lab for the continuance of our upcoming experiment preparation." Sheldon thinks to himself, _why did I lie? Of course I felt something. How could she_ _not_ _feel a connection? Amy, I wish I could say it. I-I-I miss you. I have more than an obsession or infatuation with you. I still love you. What happened?_

"Cooper? Come on! We have work to do." His head snaps up automatically. Amy is waiting at the other end of the hallway, yet Sheldon's feet still planting themselves to the same square inches of carpet. He follows her this time, not even pretending to appear okay.

/

Nude, save for lingerie, Penny runs around her apartment, desperately trying to find something to wear. She has decided to got to Barry's place, getting his address through text messages and putting it in her GPS system on her cell phone. She pushes hangers to the side in her living room closet.

Her fingers land on a silky fabric, and she pulls it out. A silky blouse with ruffles in a v-shape for a neckline, cream colored. A couple hangers to the right she pulls out a tight black skirt and, at the bottom of the closet, a pair of platform wedges. _I need someone to help me get through this. I need someone to make me feel good. God, what am I doing?_

All the way to Barry's, Penny's head wanders. It feels like only seconds before she is face to face with his front door. She knocks, and he answers, not grinning goofy like he had when he showed up at her apartment the day they were caught.

"Penny! Ah, you're here!"

"Yes, I sure am," she pushes him back with one hand and steps inside. She swings the door shut behind her, yet leans her back against it. Barry moves forward to her, his face centimeters from her neck. They examine the structures of the faces; lines, circles. All coming together. He leans in more, but she sets her hands on his shoulders. "That's not what I'm here for."

He quirks an eyebrow. "What for? I mean, you call me up the other day for fun times and now you come dressed like this?"

"Whatever. I'm here to talk and explain what happened and why. Basically, I came here to vent."

"So you were tired of Hofstadter's goods, right? You needed a little Kripke on the side?"

"Ummmm, no. Just sit down." Barry sits in an armchair and gestures to his lap.

"Want to sit?"

"No I need to stand. And, I don't per say, like you Barry."

His face falters, but then goes back to its' prior appearance. "You are joking, right?"

"No I'm not. Quit talking," Barry drags his thumb and forefinger across his sealed lips, "i was just trying to get back at Leonard. I suspected he was cheating."

"But wait. How,"

"No waiting. Shut up. I may be a blond with jugs, but I'm not stupid. I saw little gifts like stuffed bears, flowers, candy and some other things I thought were for me; they were hidden under our bed and in Leonard's closet. When they disappeared and I never saw them again I was suspicious. In this magazine, Oklahoma Lovers, there is an article called '20 Signs the SOB is Gettin' Booty Elsewhere'. He showed sixteen of the signs at that time. After he told me about the affair and said he was moving to San Diego it went to seventeen. As far as I know he hasn't gotten her knocked up and he doesn't have enough money for a wedding, so he hasn't been emptying any bank accounts or being stingy with spending. Besides, he would buy a thousand comic books instead if he had the money."

"Why would you want to tell me all of this?"

"Just thought you would want to know something: the day we had sex? I had found a pair of women's underwear under the side of my couch. They were... pretty. Okay, they were hotter than mine and I just couldn't help but add it to the signs. I was so frustrated after that I just called you over to blow off some steam."

"Yeah okay. But one question."

"Sure, what is it?"

"Why did you come to me? I mean, don't you have ex boyfriends that you could've called?"

"You want to know? I do too, but I don't really know why," _Actually, I_ _do_ _know why._ Penny thinks to herself. _I don't like to reuse them, but sometimes I do. I like to try new men. Just covering my bases, I guess. Oh my, I've been bad. I've been very, very bad. Bad girl. Bad, bad-_ "Stop." Penny says aloud, barely audible above a whisper, but Barry looks at her with both of his eyebrows raised.

"Stop what?" he asks.

"What? Nothing." Penny mentally hits herself for her thoughts.

"We're not getting together, are we?"

"Us? Together? No way." Penny walks to the door and takes a deep breath before she opens it and leaves.

Penny sits in her car, her eyes scanning the children playing at a nearby park. She grins when she sees a little girl bend over a boy that appears to be her brother. The girl picks him up in her arms while the boy holds his knee. As they move towards a bench where mothers and fathers are sitting the girl sets the boy in one of the women's arms. Penny feels a pain in her heart and she starts to cry.

"I'm sorry!" she yells to no one in particular. She slams her palm on the steering wheel a few times watching as her hand shakes. "I'm sorry," she faintly whispers, "Why did you cheat on me? We were supposed to be together forever," she takes another glance at the innocent children on the playground; laughing, helping one another, not knowing what in life awaits them. She looks up at the ceiling of her car. She stabs her right index in the air, saying, "You did it first. This is your fault. It's time to make myself happy again," she turns on her engine, "which I haven't been in a long time."

/

Turning into the driveway of the home, Penny feels herself blush. Her heels hit the pavement with a hard _smack, smack._ She sees a red and black Harley, shining farther up the walk. Penny's cheeks heat up more at the sight, yet her legs continue to propel her forward. Letting her lungs fill with large amounts of oxygen she smooths out her skirt from back to front. She looks down at her chest and pushes up her bra with cupped palms.

Knowing full well that she has taken too much time already, she lightly raps on the front door and flashes a grin when hearing the locks release.

Flames shoot out of every pore of her body as the door in her line of sight is replaced by her one and only, Zack Johnson.

 **(Can I get a 'oooooo...'?)**

"Hi." he says.

"Hi." Penny stands there, dazed.

"Umm, hi?" Zack moves to the side, gesturing for her to come in.

"Hi? Oh!" Penny rushes into the home, and Zack shuts the door. It clicks into place, but neither of them stay to listen as Zack chases Penny to the bedroom; both stumbling and shrieking the whole way. Zack says, "Cool, it's gonna be in 3-D!"

 **(Quote from the episode, 'The Lunar Excitation')**

Hours later, Penny sits up on the bed, and both her and Zack say, "Shower? Yeah." they get up and Penny adds,

"So, how have you been?"

Zack opens his top dresser drawer and pulls out a yellow box. "Good, Milk Dud?"

While in the shower the only thing- the only person- Penny can think about is Leonard. _I was wrong,_ she thinks, _I can't be happy now without you. You've ruined me._

 **A/N: I have also realized that many of my chapter names start with a 't' or include one. Just saying. See you for chapter 8 ~ and please, REVIEW! If this were your story, where would you go with it? Let me know, and I would like to thank Guest for the idea on the last half of this chapter. Zenny is soo hot, but not when Leonard is at the front most of our minds, I guess. I will be writing up and sending out a different document concerning this story as well. Details to come. Please, if you like or maybe you don't like this story, let your voice be heard when I send it out. Put some real thought into your happily ever after of our Big Bang family.**


	8. A Change Of The Mind

**Disclaimer:** **Bill Prady, Mark Cendrowski, and Chuck Lorre – Love you guys!**

 **A/N: Wow, I can see that some of you are** **really** **passionate about what you want for an ending. Since I can't** **appease** **all of your needs though I hope to not lose any readers. Don't forget to let me know your opinion of this story and any questions, comments, concerns, suggestions or ideas for the story you may have. Thanks to all of my viewers and reviewers for support, but LET'S GET ON WITH TBBT ALREADY!**

 **Chapter 8: A Change of the Mind**

Infuriated. Outraged. These are great adjectives to describe Raj's feelings towards Jamie. Towards Leonard. Towards Howard. Towards the unnamed man in the hotel parking lot. Towards Bernadette, and towards himself. His life has been crumbling around him and he knows it's his fault. It's his fault that Leonard's life could be ruined soon. Raj can't stop the words from replaying in his mind: _'How did you know?' 'Wild guess'._ His mind replaying the man's composure; relaxed, yet confused. Acting as if he wasn't helping a woman cheat. But, what if he didn't know what he was doing? Raj definitely knew what _he_ was doing... and who. Of course it wasn't that guy's fault. Again, it was Raj's and Jamie's fault.

Dragging his feet through the crowded Pasadena Airport, Raj can't help noticing the happy couples. Women holding babies in their arms as men walk up to them, a little boy or girl yelling, "Daddy!" and crushing them with hugs. A shy young man holding a suitcase while frantically searching. A wide toothy grin after locking eyes with a woman running to him, and he drops the forgotten suitcase right before they crash into each other with their arms outstretched. Raj walks behind these two, grabbing his luggage from the baggage claim. He can't help but think, _**Everybody has somebody. Everybody but me.**_ He sticks a pout lip out and trudges to a nearby bathroom.

When in the bathroom, Raj sets his suitcase down and stands in front of a sink. He throws cold water up in his face, while looking at himself in the mirror. He does it a few more times and tries to erase the exhaustion from his face. Then he hears a beeping noise somewhere and realizes it's his phone. He looks down to check the screen, seeing that it is a message from Jamie. It reads: _Daniel told me about you and him meeting in the hotel parking lot. Don't even bother telling Leonard anything. I will take matters into my own hands now._

Raj knows it is already too late for him to talk to Leonard face to face, because Leonard's plane left around two hours ago. He would text him, but Leonard would be met face to face with Jamie as soon as he got off of the plane. _**Forget it,**_ Raj thinks, _**I'm done feeling bad about everything I do. I don't care about Jamie or Leonard or anyone else but me. Okay, well maybe I do care a little. They can't know about me.**_ Raj picks up his luggage and storms out of the restroom.

In his car he sends a message to, not the only person he wants to see right now, but close enough.

/

A blonde reaches for her phone as it beeps right next to her on the couch. She couldn't sleep at all last night thanks to herself. She couldn't believe how she had tricked herself and manipulated Howard the other day. Her lying was getting to her, but she didn't want to tell him the truth last night, and she definitely doesn't want to now. She has what she always wanted: two men mooning over her without incident. As long as she was more careful this time her life will be just perfect.

 _Is he there?_ The message is from Raj, and Bernadette's spine tingles as she flashes back to an intimate time that seems like forever ago. She looks back in her bedroom, seeing Howard sprawled out on the mattress.

 _Yeah, but let's meet in your office again Doc. There's a desk I want to see._ Bernadette gets off of the couch and walks into her bedroom for some clothes. She gets dressed and quickly leaves, shutting the door quietly behind her. _**Man, I have a great life!**_

"Knock, knock!" Bernadette says after knocking on Raj's office door. It opens and Bernadette comes in, Raj shuts the door behind her and locks all of the locks. "Raj, I-" but she is interrupted by him clashing his lips to hers. They don't break free for a few long minutes, and when they finally do, Bernadette lets out a long gush of air she didn't know she was holding in. Raj shakes his head violently, telling her to be silent. Bernadette nods in agreement and she kicks off both of her shoes. She lifts her right leg and slides her upper thigh down the side of his leg. Her breath hitches, and she slowly drops her leg.

He slips his shoes off now too, and looks into her eyes. He can see that she is scared. Scared to be caught again. Scared of the future. He is scared too, though for other reasons. He cannot tell her; it would destroy her. Not to mention he would not only be hated by her and Howard, but could the others hate him as well?

Raj pushes a strand of hair out of her face. They smile at each other and get lost in the moment. She sets her palms on his shoulders and forces them both down to the floor. Giggles escape her mouth as clothes fly off bodies and the desk shakes after being hit.

They finish without incident. Raj starts to get dressed and thinks, _**I**_ _ **need**_ _ **to stop doing this. This isn't me, I'm...**_ He can't face the thought. He walks over to his desk and pulls out a bottle of rum from his top drawer. He sits in his chair and then looks up at Bernadette, who is now getting dressed again.

"Hey, Bernadette?"

She smiles at the sound of his voice, wishing she could hear it more often. "Yes, Raj?"

"Leave. That will be all." he waves her away with his free hand as he nurses the bottle with his other.

"You want me to just go? Now?"

"Yes. Unless you want to get caught ag-" she's out of the office faster than lightning, and even faster when trying not to be seen by anyone lurking in the hallway. _**Something else is up with Raj, he usually holds me in his lap afterwards.**_ She has a feeling it's about her, but what could be wrong now?

/

Seven o' clock. That's what time it is when Leonard exits the plane. He looks up at the fading light blue sky, with mixtures of a rosy pink and an almost black shade of purple. The sun hits nearly every inch of his exposed skin, but still the heat is coming on too strong. He can't wait to see Jamie. His angelic and magnetizing Jamie. He zigzags his eyeballs from right to left, left to right. Finally, they find a turquoise strapless dress hanging on perfectly rounded shoulders, and a dark chocolate brown hat shading her fragile but strong, delicate but tough face. She's already clenching two suitcases, one for each hand. The rest will come with movers in the next two weeks.

"Jamie!" Leonard yells and quickens his steps to her. She sets down the luggage as he approaches her and they embrace one another. Short kisses follow and arms tangle together before they remember where they are. Now it's Leonard's turn to pick up the suitcases.

They walk to the car and put the bags in the backseat. Once inside their respective seats, they take one look across the console and it's all it takes. They attack viciously, tongues pleading for entrance into dark mint flavored caves. A bite of his lower lip from her, and fingers scavenge for locks to curl around. Then, they break apart as if nothing has happened, and Jamie turns the ignition. Cruising the streets, Leonard asks, "So? Anything new with you?"

No hesitation on her part: "Nope. Not a thing. I really missed you when we were apart. I had no one to keep me company at night," she pats his knee. Leonard reaches for her hand and she snatches it away. "Babe, I'm driving," He stare out the window, beautiful landmarks passing by. "Well actually..." Jamie says.

"What?" Leonard doesn't know how to feel. Happy? Concerned?

"I, well reach to the backseat and grab the stack of papers." Leonard gets them and starts to look through them.

"What are these for?" his voice slowing and raising in pitch towards the end.

"They're... they're for your new job, Sweetie. I got you a job here, so you're not bored when I'm at work. With your credentials, they love you already."

"Who exactly is 'they'?"

"Umm... it's a big corporation. And this is your application you need to fill out the rest of the way." she tries to distract him.

"Honey?"

"Yes?"

"You know I can read, right?"

"Yes."

"And you know that I am a scientist, right?"

"Well you were, but you told me you wanted a new job for our new start together, remember? You wanted a fresh beginning in your life."

"Yes, of course."

"So, what does that have to do with your ability to read?" she tries, believe me, so hard to act dumb.

"Jamie," he points to the top of the first page of the application, "it says right here that this is an application for McDonald's. Of course my credentials are good for them! They'll hire anyone!"

 **A/N: No offense to people who work at Micky D's! Your Oreo McFlurries are amazing!**

"Yeah, isn't that great? Made it that much easier for you to get the job!"

"Okay, well. We will talk about that later." he throws his application back in the back.

The following day, Leonard sleepily enters Jamie's kitchen. He grabs a gallon jug of orange juice and takes a swig. Upon turning around he sees a piece of paper on the kitchen island.

 _Leonard,_

 _Working a little late tonight, but I have a surprise for you. I'll pick you up at 6:30._

 _Bye._

"Love you too," he mumbles to himself. A shower seems like the thing to do now.

Black pants with a white shirt? Dress shoes? Shorts? A regular tee shirt? Leonard hunts through one of his bags for something to wear. Since reading her too vague note, which the ending 'bye' was written in a different color of pen as an afterthought, he has been wondering what to wear. He chooses a pair of black slacks with black tie up dress shoes. He adds a bleached white button up with a black overcoat. He looks at a couple of ties on top of some socks, but decides against them. One is dark green the other black, but he feels to not be too dressy. He shuts the case and picks it up by the handle to set in the closet. He doesn't have his own dresser or wardrobe yet; the movers are bringing them. On top of the comforter on the bed lies the application. Leonard scoffs and throws it in the closet. _**McDonald's, seriously?**_ He thinks about what Jamie said though, new beginnings, a fresh start for  their family. _**Taking one for the team,**_ he thinks, _**Jamie loves me and I love her.**_ He picks the stapled packet up and grabs a pen from Jamie's dresser.

Yesterday Jamie and him had further discussed the job. He is going to start next Monday, and will be expected to be trained faster than other employees there. His pay is set for $20.00 an hour (higher than others pay for an incentive). Jamie said the manager said, "He is a valuable person. If he can learn fast, he'll be promoted to manager in no time." He fills out the leftover blanks; pain lingering in his chest with every letter written.

/

Uneventful. One of many adjectives to describe Leonard's day.

At precisely 6:30 pm, Jamie pulls up outside the house. Her face shows shock as he comes down the stairs in a suit.

"You look amazing." she says breathy.

"It's alright? I didn't know what to wear based on your note."

"Yes. It's perfect. Let's go." she says hastily, all the shock disappearing from her face. Her mission fresh in her mind again.

Smells travel up Leonard's nostrils as they both sit in the dining room of the high class restaurant. Spiced shrimp, smoked salmon and halibut. Waiters pass him with steaming silver platters. Older gentlemen are gathering in a corner table for a business meeting. They all carry in briefcases and leave them at the front coat check. Champagne glasses clink and a petite band plays 'Under The Sea' faintly in the background.

"Hello. My name is Mandy and I'll be your server tonight. Are you ready to order?" Leonard snaps his attention to a black haired, tall woman, her features pretty plain. She's cheery, and her dimples are huge. Jamie is the one to answer,

"Yes. Two lobsters and a glass of red wine. You like wine, right dear?" she asks Leonard.

"Sure. One red wine for me. Thanks." the waitress buzzes off.

Fifteen minutes later, Mandy returns with their drinks and food on a tray. When she's done setting up the meal, she whispers to Jamie, "Do you want me to now, ma'am?"

Jamie waves her off. "Not yet, but keep close." Mandy nods and goes to another table with the tray tucked under her arm and her notepad in hand.

Leonard seems puzzled, but then ignores everything except his lobster. He ties a bib around his neck and starts to eat.

More people come into the restaurant. Jamie examines the nearby tables seeing most of them save for two are full. _**The more, the better.**_ She finds Mandy and nods her head twice. Mandy fast-walks to the band, and two of the players move to the left of Leonard and Jamie's table. The cello starts while the harp takes over. Soon many diners are looking over at them and Jamie smiles. _**It's time.**_ She reaches into her purse and kneels to the right of Leonard. She gets some tears going in her eyes and raises her head up.

"Leonard, I have loved you for so long, and I've always wanted someone like you in my life. It's been six months, I know, but to me it's been too long. I wan to spend the rest of my life with a gentle, tough man. Someone who doesn't need a year to get to know me, because you already understand me, more than you could ever possibly imagine. Will you marry me?"

Leonard gulps. He looks at Jamie. Then the onlookers in the room. He doesn't want to embarrass her, but... _**is it the right time? Do I love her? Am I ready for the rest of my life with her and her only? How many kids would we have? Could she even have kids? Does she want kids?**_ Again, _**do I love her?**_

The last few thoughts he has are of Penny. His feelings for her. There's the deal breaker. His mind is made up. The last note of the song is played; people seem to lean in as if he needs to speak up, when he hasn't said anything. He stands up and removes the bib. "Yes."

 **A/N: By the way, it's kind of getting on my nerves that you guys are not reviewing that much. Some of you are fantastic- you review all of the time, you write lovely reviews, etc.- but the point is I check the stats on how many people are viewing this story- over 1,000- yet there is not nearly 50 reviews even! Come on guys, pick up the slack! So, I am not going to post chapter 9 unless I get 7-10 reviews/follows/favorites for this chapter. That's all I ask! Happy 4th of July!**


End file.
